The Snow Queen
by lauren3210
Summary: Fairytale AU, does exactly what it says on the tin. Part of the A2A Christmas Exchange.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is another story as part of the A2A Christmas Exchange, but this is a little different, mainly because it's going to be a multi-chapter fic. It's such a good prompt that I felt it really deserved a lot of effort, and I'm actually really excited about it! Now, this is a DE fic, however this first chapter is setting the scene, so they don't make an appearance here. Also, it's completely AU, so you might find some characters a little different to the show. But anyway, I hope you like it!**

**Prompt by Duchess_Sandra: It is hard to come up with an original prompt, but I think I have something. It may be a bit of a challenge, but given the Winter theme and the fact that I'm a huge fan of fairy tales, my prompt is this: Write a D/E version of Hans Cristian Anderson' The Snow Queen. Damon needs to be in the role of Kai and Elena in the role of Gerda, but I leave it up to you what other parts of the story you'll use, which characters you'll include (or change, like making the troll a witch, etc.) and how mature you are gonna make the story.  
**

**Wow, how awesome is this prompt?  
**

* * *

**Act 1: The beginning.**

Tinkling laughter echoed across the glade, tripping from tree to tree. The echoes grew louder and more hollow as the sky above the clearing turned a pearly white, clouds rolling over the piercing blue seamlessly. Stars of pure white flurried down, scattering across the deep green of the leaves, settling in small clumps across the plae yellow of the flowers that dotted the ground. A pair of turtle doves chirped and dove down to their quarry, the changing weather not deterring them from their path. A squirrel chattered and ran up a tree trunk, its paws sliding over the sudden frost as it jumped from bough to bough.

Elijah laughed as he leaped from side to side, the ground beneath his feet icing over just a split second after his boots left the ground. "You forget, dear sister, I know what's in your heart, you cannot surprise me!"

Rebekah frowned and pointed her fingers again, determined to win the fight and force her brother to slip. "Maybe if I keep you distracted you won't be able to listen? I saw Mira looking at you during dinner the other night, perhaps she likes you?" A turtle dove landed upon her shoulder suddenly, breaking her concentration as it nipped at her ear. "Finn!" She called, waving her arm to distract the bird, causing waves of ice and frost to cover the ground before her. "Call your minions off!"

Her brother laughed as he tried to keep his balance on the frozen ground. "I am merely helping my brother even the fight, little sister!" He called to her, before falling backwards into a snowdrift.

"But that's not fair, it can't be two against one!" Rebekah pouted, and turned to her younger brother. He stood to the side of the clearing, watching the teasing fight as he leaned against a tree. "Klaus, come and be on my side, help me put these two cheaters in their proper place!" She scowled at Elijah again, but her tone was playful, lilting.

"My involvement would still not make the game fair, Rebekah," Klaus replied, kicking at the snow with a mulish look on his face. "I have no powers such as you three, I would merely look a fool if I tried to take part."

"Yes, because standing to the side with such a displeasing expression could never make one look foolish!" Elijah grinned as he jumped yet another sheet of ice and tackled his youngest brother into the snow.

The cold from Rebekah's fingers slipped through Klaus' clothing, making him shiver as he wriggled out from under his brother's embrace. He felt a tugging on his hair, and looked up with a frown, batting at the rabbit Finn was guiding to him with an ill humour. He wrestled his way back to standing and glared at his siblings. Rebekah and Finn were still laughing, hoping he would choose today to join in with their play for the first time. Only Elijah looked on him with disappointment in his eyes; he could see Klaus' heart and could sense the blackness there, the jealousy and rage.

"Calm down, little brother, please do not feel that way." He reached out a hand but stopped before touching Klaus, knowing it would not be welcomed. "You are young, perhaps you have not yet come into your own special power. It may happen yet."

His brother's placating tone sent shivers of rage down Klaus' spine and he clenched his fists as anger coursed through him. "Just because you can read my heart, this does not give you permission to give voice to my feelings!" He shouted, and the sound echoed across the glade, patches of snow falling from branches to land in heaps in their wake. "My thoughts are mine, and I would thank you to let me keep them if I so wish!"

Klaus cast one more black look at his two other siblings, standing in the middle of the icy field and staring at him in consternation. He spun on his heel and disappeared into the trees, his boots finding solid purchase the further he stepped from his sister. The sky above him turned back into bright blue, the hot summer sun seeping down through the canopy of leaves in strong beams. The woodland creatures ran away from his thundering footsteps, back to his brother Finn and his calming influence, away from the brother with no power.

_Stupid animal sense, stupid heart reading, stupid ice-fingers! _He thought to himself as he stomped deeper into the woods. _Why is it that I have no power? It's not fair!_ The woods around him turned darker and more dense as he walked, but Klaus barely noticed, so involved with his feelings as he was. Oh how he wished for a power of his own! Something that was just his, something that would have the people of his village look upon him with as much respect as they did his siblings. No, with more respect, because he deserved it! Being able to commune and control animals, what kind of silly power was that anyway? Or being able to read a person's heart? What kind of good could that power bring Elijah in the scheme of things? No, Klaus deserved a better power, one more like his sister's! The power to control the elements, now there was a power worth having! But instead of gifting this to Klaus, the Gods had decided that Rebekah was more worthy. Klaus scoffed out loud, and the sound, filled with black thoughts as it was, fell into the air before him and dropped away. They should have seen fit to have given the power of winter to him! He would know how to use it, how to force people into their rightful place before him. Not like his sister, who only used it for play with her equally gifted brothers.

With his jealousy and rage consuming him, Klaus wandered further into the deep dark woods that surrounded his village, further than anybody had gone before. He did not care, was confident that he could find the way home should he want to, and so when he came across a small pond he sat, removed his boots and placed his feet in the water. Perhaps he would just stay here, away from the ridicule that came with being the only Mikaelson child without special powers, away from the sympathetic stares of his mother and the disappointment of his father. Perhaps he would hide away here, and wait to see if he were granted his own gift, before striding back into the village in triumph. Or perhaps he would have to stay here forever, waiting for a gift that would never come, simply because of the capriciousness of the Gods who saw fit to leave him powerless and alone.

The cool water was refreshing on his tired feet, and he leaned back on his hands as he lazily moved his toes, flicking droplets across the pond, closing his eyes and letting the hot summer sun warm his face. The faint sound of laughter reached his ears and he opened his eyes, glancing around the small clearing before peering through the line of trees. Surely his fool brothers and sister had not tried to follow him? They will experience his full wrath if they did, he thought to himself, scowling darkly as he sat back upright. His foot slid further into the water as he moved, and his toe scraped against something cold and smooth. Still frowning, Klaus pulled his leg up, turning his body to kneel at the water's edge and peer down into the water. Below him something shimmered faintly, reflecting the sun above with a darker intent than the clear water.

"What is this?" Klaus murmured to himself as he looked down upon the treasure, one hand already lifting to roll up his sleeve. A faint echo of laughter rolled over him again, like a caress, and suddenly he was intent upon retrieving this thing from the depths of its murky resting place. He set his knees and braced with one arm, turning his head to the side as he put his hand beneath the water's surface, fingers stretching out to claim their prize. A brief scrabble, and something cold, like ice, brushed across the very tip of one finger. He leaned further, cheek almost touching the water as he moved his arm around beneath him frantically, suddenly desperate to find some way to grab a hold of the smooth object. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding as his grasping fingers finally found purchase, and he lifted his treasure to the surface with a great wrench.

"A mirror," Klaus mused as he sat back on his heels, tipping his prize to rid it of water, wiping his sleeve across it to bring back its shine. He caught his reflection as it stared back at him, his perpetual frown already back in its place. He had hoped for something more unusual, something rare and precious. But the mirror was just that; a mirror, framed by wood as black as night, heavy in his hands as he turned it this way and that, looking for some reason as to why he should find it at the bottom of an undiscovered pond. He turned the mirror over on its back, hoping to find some writing, maybe a map to some hidden treasure, but there was nothing; it was as smooth and unremarkable as the frame it stood in. Klaus sighed, and made to throw it back into the water, but a small movement caught his eye, and his arm stilled. He brought the mirror up closer to his face, staring at his own reflection, searching for whatever had caught his attention. He held his breath and waited, and sure enough the movement happened again. It was his own reflection.

It grinned and winked at him.

Klaus gasped and dropped the mirror; it fell onto his lap and slithered down his legs before coming to rest at the very edge of the pond, teetering backwards and forwards as if unsure its fall had reached its final conclusion. Klaus was wary, but a pull in his chest told him to reach out and save the mirror before it could drown again, and so he did. As soon as his fingers grasped onto the plain wooden frame, his reflection turned to look at him, smiling wide. His eyes were sharp and cunning, his mouth falling open in a calculating smirk. Klaus knew his own face showed none of these traits, and he couldn't help but notice how handsome the smile made his reflection.

"Is this my power? Seeing things that aren't there?" He mused, not taking his eyes from the mirror in his hands.

_Oh, it's there, if you look hard enough._

The mouth in the reflection moved, forming the words, but Klaus didn't hear them; they settled around his shoulders as though borne on the summer breeze.

"Are you magick?" Klaus asked out loud, feeling vaguely foolish for talking to a thing such as this.

His reflection smiled slyly. _Maybe, _came the reply.

"Do you have any other special abilities?" He asked, the embarrassed flush fading from his cheeks as he watched his reflection move inside the frame.

_I find lost things, _the wind whispered against his cheek. _I find stolen things and reunite them with their rightful owners._

"I have lost nothing," Klaus grumbled, his black mood descending over his shoulders once more.

_Are you sure? You haven't lost your power, maybe?_

"My power?" Klaus sat up straighter, staring intently at the mirror. "I have no power, that honour is for my siblings to wield."

_But one of them wields a power that is not theirs, stolen from their brother while he slept peacefully._

"How do you know this?" Klaus asked in wonderment.

His reflection smiled and raised its hands. _This is my power._

Klaus stood up in excitement, pulling the mirror closer to his chest. "Which one was it? Who stole my power? Tell me!"

_A young man such as yourself would have only the greatest power to mould to his uses._

The reflection was enigmatic, sitting back in the frame and waiting for Klaus to come to his inevitable conclusion. "Rebekah," he breathed at last. Of course! The power to manipulate the seasons should have gone to one that would know how to use it, not to a silly girl who thought snowflakes were pretty. "She stole my power!" Klaus roared, his voice making the water beside him ripple as it cowered from his rage. He would go back to town and force her to return it to its rightful owner, and he would place his fingers upon her and turn her to ice for her treachery! Although... how could he make her give it back when he was currently powerless?

_I can help you get it back, _the wind breathed across his shoulders.

"How?" Klaus demanded, holding the frame so tightly it threatened to cut into his fingers, he was so angry.

_Take me back to your village, _his reflection whispered. _Make your sister look upon me, I will show her how the world is supposed to be, and she will give it up willingly._

Klaus smiled and tucked the mirror under his arm, pulling on his boots and turning back towards the forest. Soon he would have his power back, and his sister would regret ever thinking of stealing from him.

* * *

The journey back to the village took longer than Klaus had envisioned; he had wandered much farther than he had intended. He wondered for a moment if he might be lost but the mirror, perhaps sensing his stolen power and wishing to reunite him with it, breathed directions into his ear on a cool breeze, and he soon found himself back at the edge of the woods.

Night had fallen, and families were gathered around their homes, smoking meat on their fires and boiling broth. Tonight was the summer solstice, the night when the veils between worlds was thinnest, the night when fairies and magick came out to play. Klaus could only see this as a good omen; the crowd gathering for the village celebration would all stand as testament to his sister's treachery, and they would see his power with the force of his will behind it, the way it was meant to be.

Laughter tickled his neck as he strode through the village, for once not minding the pitiful looks his neighbours cast on him as he passed. Soon they would see him as he was truly meant to be.

"Klaus!" His sister's voice called out through the darkness, and Klaus turned to see her walking quickly towards him. "Where have you been? We were so worried!" She cried as soon as she reached him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "We thought you lost to the woods, thank the Gods you are home in one piece!"

"Not quite, dear sister, but soon enough," Klaus replied, his jaw set tight as he pulled away from her. "I will be whole once again."

"Whatever do you mean?" Rebekah said, a small frown marring her perfect features.

Klaus smiled and pulled the mirror out from under his arm, slowly unwrapping his over-shirt from where he had placed it for protection of the glass. "I have something I'd like to show you."

He lifted the mirror, letting the firelight catch on its smooth surface as he turned it to face away from him, receiving a wink from his reflection as it sat far back in the frame.

"Rebekah, no!"

Klaus glanced up irritably, glaring at his brother as Elijah raced towards them, hand held high.

"I see what's in his heart, Rebekah, he wishes to take your power from you!"

"Wrong, dear brother!" Klaus hissed, moving to stand between Elijah and Rebekah. "I wish only to take that which was already mine!"

He whirled on the spot and brought the mirror up, placing it in front of his sister so close that she would have no choice but to look upon her mistake and set it right. Rebekah froze to the spot, staring at the mirror, her eyes roving all along the glass as she took in what the reflection showed her. When she finally stepped away, head bowed, Klaus let his arms fall down, fingers still clenched tightly around the frame.

"Do you see your mistake now sister?" Klaus asked. "Do you see how the power should be rightfully used?"

"Yes," Rebekah whispered, "I see." Her voice was low and razor sharp, and it tingled down Klaus' spine like icicles. She raised her head and looked at her brother, her once bright blue eyes now crystalline, covered in ice. Her usually pale skin had turned to pure white, her golden hair turned pale as the feathers of Finn's turtle doves.

She raised her fingers and pointed at Klaus, the tips turning blue as icicles dripped from the nails. "I see now how wrong I was. Why make snow that melts in the sun, when I can make winter forever?"

Klaus raised the mirror to shield himself as she moved towards him, and her blast of frost bounced off the glass and shot out into the village square. People all around him began to scream as Rebekah whirled, directing the cold wherever she pointed. Fires froze in an instant, their flames becoming shards of ice; trees frosted over and branches cracked and fell; the ground beneath their feet became a frozen lake.

Klaus stared around him in horror as Rebekah continued on her path, freezing plants and animals alike, turning them into statues of sculpted ice. He watched as his sister turned her frozen fingers on their brother, saw Elijah realise what she was about to do a second before and jump, leaping away from the frost and calling for Finn. Rebekah paid Elijah no heed; she turned her frosty gaze upon Klaus instead, and he gulped, rooted to the spot in fear.

_Run, _the wind whispered, and Klaus did, turning away from the village and back towards the relative safety of the woods, his sister's footsteps close on his heels.

"What have you done?" He gasped, turning the mirror to face him as he ran. "She was supposed to give the power back to me! What have you done?"

His reflection smirked and laced its fingers behind its head, shrugging lazily, even as Klaus slipped and slid along the quickly freezing ground. _That power was never yours, I must have been mistaken. But I did what I said I would do. I showed her how the world is supposed to be._

"It's not supposed to be like this!" Klaus shouted, grateful that his feet had finally found good purchase beneath him.

_Says who? _The wind whispers, trailing across Klaus' cheek in a mockery of a caress. _Besides, I did what I said I would do for you too. I found your power._

"And what's that, then?" Klaus snarled, out of breath as he tried to outrun the frozen ground, the wind whipping behind him, the sharp sting of winter air harsh upon his neck.

His reflection rolled its eyes. _Look down._

Klaus did, and let out a cry of shock. His feet were no longer touching the ground; the village was far below him, the spread of frost like a stain upon a patchwork quilt beneath him.

"What's happening?" He gasped, looking around at the stars as they twinkled around him, so much closer than he had ever seen them.

_The power of flight, that is your gift. I found it for you,are you going to thank me?_

"You turned my sister mad, I am grateful to you for nothing!" Klaus shouted, bringing his hand down to shatter the glass. But the mirror was freezing to the touch, and it held onto Klaus' skin unwilling to let him move away.

_You will thank me, and I will get my reward._

The whispered words were harsh in Klaus' ear now, making him flinch as he tried to move his hand away from the mirror. His reflection grinned then, maliciousness alight within its eyes as it suddenly moved closer to the frame.

_You will help me spread my message._

His reflection laughed, and the sound was like nails scratching down glass as it moved ever closer, one hand stretched out. Klaus watched with horror as his reflection pressed its hand against his own, felt himself soar ever higher as he tried in vain to rip his hand away. His skin began to shimmer and turn translucent, and he let out a strangled cry as he felt his reflection start to pull him into the mirror. The last thing he saw before he was pulled in completely, was the small figure of his sister, looking up at him as the wind twisted itself in her hair, her fingers outstretched as though she could still reach him.

And then he was gone, absorbed into the mirror and trapped with his own reflection, who opened his mouth wide and started to laugh. No longer being held up in the air, the mirror began to fall back to earth, gaining speed as it travelled the distance. It smashed down onto the frozen ground, shards and splinters flying up as though possessed. The winter wind picked up the tiny pieces and flew through the air with them, spreading them as far and wide as they could.

One tiny splinter, barely the size of a grain of rice, flew so far that it reached the barrier between worlds, slipping through the veil even as the summer solstice came to its frozen end.

* * *

**A/N: So there we go, story all set up! Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Reviews are love! :)**


	2. Act 2

**A/N: Okay, second chapter of this story is now up! This is the first time I've actually written DE *in* a relationship; I normally go for the UST followed by the HEA, LOL! Anyway, I wanted to give you some DE stuff, because the rest of the story is Elena focused, and Damon stays in the background until the end. So, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Act 2: The Beginning Again.**

The sidewalk was slippery as she stepped out of her car, and Elena carefully picked her way around the piles of driven snow as she made her way towards the school doors, her bag balanced precariously on the edge of her shoulder.

"You're late."

The voice came from behind her, and she squeaked in surprise, flailing her arms as her legs slipped out from under her. A pair of strong hands grabbed her around her waist, and she craned her head back to scowl at the boy behind her.

"Damon! What are you doing out here?"

Damon shrugged and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Waiting for you, of course."

Elena sighed. "But now you're late for school too."

"It's English," Damon snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her close as they made the treacherous way up to the school doors. "Mrs Engel hates me, I need you there to protect me."

Elena laughed. "She's not that bad, I kinda like her."

"That's because you're her star pupil, she'd never be horrible to you. To the rest of us?" Damon widened his eyes in mock horror, "The woman practically breathes fire. No way am I sitting in that class without you there to defend my honour."

"You're such an idiot," Elena giggled, pressing her cold lips to his cheek as they walked into school. "Do you have your books? Because we so do not have time to stop off at our lockers. We're going to be in enough trouble as it is."

"No morning locker make out?" Damon pouted. "I don't know how I'll get through the day."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to wait until our lunch time make out," Elena whispered, and opened the door to their English classroom. "Sorry we're late, Mrs Engel, my car wouldn't start in the cold this morning."

* * *

"Are you sure we can't sneak out for the afternoon? I'm already bored to death," Damon groaned as he sank into a chair next to Elena, sneaking a fry off her plate and rubbing his hands together. "God, it's like this place can't even afford heating, I'm freezing."

Elena closed her physics book and smacked his hand as it snaked out to grab more of her lunch. "Get your own. And no, we can't sneak out, I've got a history test next period." She kissed his pouting lips and offered him her can of soda. "How was your chem class?"

Damon sighed and laid his head on the table. "Boring as hell. We didn't even get to blow shit up."

Elena laughed. "Ah well, you can't do that every week." She pulled up her bag and searched inside. "Come on, help me study for this history test, Mr Saltzman's basing it on the Civil War." She frowned down at the textbook in her hand. "There're so many dates and numbers to memorise."

"Nah, it's easy to remember, here, I'll show you." Damon yanked the book closer to him and started rifling through the pages.

"Easy for you," Elena grumbled. "You're the one with the freaky memory for all things old and stuffy."

"Hey, you know English, I know history. Don't get crabby, or I won't help."

Elena stuck out her tongue and then yelped as he tried to grab it, his hand lightning fast. Damon smirked and leaned forwards in his chair, sliding his fingers through her long dark hair.

"Ugh, guys, get a room!" Caroline threw her bag down on the seat across from them and sat down. "It's actually disgusting how in love you too are."

"Just because you're jealous, Blondie," Damon replied, still not looking away from Elena's dark gaze.

"Well, lucky for you two, I have a date tonight."

"How is that lucky for us?"

"Because maybe I'll also fall disgustingly in love and then I won't constantly feel the need to puke on your shoes whenever we hang out!" Caroline smiled and spread her hands wide.

"As long as it doesn't involve us all double dating, I am all for anything that takes you away from us, Blondie."

Elena smacked Damon on the back of the head, kissing him gently to take away the sting of the reprimand. "Who are you going out with, Caroline?"

"New guy," Caroline replied immediately, and she was off, explaining all about how she and Bonnie had spotted him the day before in the office, followed by Caroline's usual brand of stalking to find out everything she could about him, before finally collaring him at the bonfire last night.

"I don't remember seeing a new guy last night," Elena admitted, casting her mind back over the now hazy events.

"Well no, you wouldn't, you were too wrapped up in tall, dark and annoying there to notice anything."

"Aww, Caroline, I didn't know you cared. Ouch!" Damon glared at Elena's friend, and reached down to rub where she'd kicked him. "Whoever he is, I feel nothing but pity for the poor man."

Caroline smiled acerbically and gathered up her stuff. "I'm planning a June wedding. See you in history, Elena. Bye loser."

"Love you too, Barbie!"

Elena groaned and leaned forward to rest her forehead against Damon's. "You know, you could at least pretend to play nice with my friends."

Damon tsked and huffed out a laugh. "Caroline would see right through it if I tried. Besides," he pressed their lips together gently, "you don't like it when I play nice."

Elena smiled and kissed him back, moaning quietly as his tongue teased her lower lip before he bit down gently. "Mmm, I refuse to answer on the basis that it might incriminate me."

Damon kissed her once, twice more, before snagging another fry and shoving it in his mouth, waggling his eyebrows at her. "You want to come back to mine after school? I need to do some stuff in the garden."

"Sure," Elena said, finishing up the rest of her soda and packing her books back into her bag. "What have you got to do?"

"I need to put some plastic around your roses, protect them from the frost." Damon stood up and slung her bag over his shoulder, holding out a hand to help her up. "A few are still in bloom."

"Walk me to history?" Elena asked, batting her eyelids.

"I'd be flattered if I didn't know you just wanted me for my brain full of dates."

* * *

The gravel crunched under her tires as Elena followed Damon back to his sprawling mansion set deep in the woods. Her breath came out in puffs of white as she stepped out of the car, the sky a steely grey above her. Damon parked his car haphazardly in the garage before running back out to join her, pulling his scarf from around his neck and winding it around her own.

"It's freezing," she whispered, her teeth chattering slightly.

"It's winter."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Still, it doesn't usually get this cold so fast."

"True, which is why I need to get this plastic wrapped around the rose bushes quickly, before the frost kills them." Damon grabbed her gloved hand in his and began pulling her across the lawn.

"We're not going inside?"

Damon shook his head. "Dad's working from home today."

Elena nodded in understanding. Damon and Guiseppe did not get along.

She let him drag her around to the garden shed and helped him gather the things he needed for her roses, following him down the path to the edge of the property, to the garden Damon had staked out for his own use. His mother had loved growing things, had spent almost all of her time out in the grounds, planting flowers and sowing seeds. After she'd died, Damon had marked out a small plot, growing rhododendrons and chrysanthemums in memory of his beautiful mother. The day after he'd kissed Elena for the first time, he'd planted a rose bush for her, because they were her favourite. The deep red of the flower still stood out sharply against the frosted green of the cold bushes, despite how late in the year it was. Damon had smiled and called it fate when she'd asked how that was possible.

Damon draped a picnic blanket over the small stone bench that guarded their little garden and told Elena to sit while he worked. She watched him as he laid out his tools; plastic wrapping, a pair of shears, a trowel and fork. She loved to watch him work here, could sit for hours and just drift to the sounds of the earth moving under his fingers, get lost in the droplets of sweat that formed on his brow as he concentrated and trailed down to his neck. It was so peaceful here, away from the road into town and far enough away from the house that Guiseppe couldn't easily bother them. They'd carved out a little slice of Heaven, just for the two of them, where Damon could remember his mother without pain, and Elena could dream up story and poem ideas without embarrassment.

"I wrote a poem last night," Elena says, the words forming puffs of white clouds as her warm breath hit the frigid air around them.

Damon doesn't turn around, but she can tell he's smiling as he continues to work. "Is it one of those Chinese ones Mrs Engel was spouting on about? The ones that sound like a sneeze?"

Elena huffed a laugh. "Haiku. And they're Japanese, not Chinese."

"Whatever, the name still sounds weird."

"You just think everything to do with poetry sounds weird."

"What can I say? I don't see the point in writing something if there's no journey in it. Poems are too short to do that."

"Paradise Lost," Elena states promptly, going over the lines of the same argument they've been having since their English class started its poetry module.

"Different genre, epic poems have different constraints." Damon tilted his head back to smile at her. "So, is it a Haiku?"

"No. Not an epic either. Do you want to hear it?" Elena's tone was stroppy but her eyes were teasing; arguing with Damon about literature was one of her favourite things to do.

Damon finished wrapping the rose bushes in plastic and sat back on his heels, letting his shoulders rest against he knees. "You know I do."

Elena pulled off one of her gloves so that she could bury her cold fingers in Damon's dark silky hair. He moved his head into the touch, his bright blue eyes staring up at her as he waited patiently.

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes.

"A simple rose I have found  
It's not the flower that grows from the ground,  
Its beauty is one of such delight ...  
This rose is soft to the touch in all its perfection.

The envy for all the flowers in this garden  
Its fragrance will consume your every obsession.  
This rose must be a gift, a gift from above  
A gift from Heaven to show us love.

Every morning I wake to see its petals glisten  
Its easy to see how one could be so smitten  
If love was a rose it would shine so bright  
Because all I need is this rose in my life." *****

Elena let her voice drift off and closed her eyes, embarrassed. Damon is quiet for a long moment as he lets the words sink in. Then he turned to sit on the bench, pulling Elena onto his lap. He stroked her hair back behind her ear and pressed kisses on her cheeks, her temples, eyelids and cold nose, before finally catching her lips with his.

"I love you, too."

* * *

The driveway was slippery with ice as they pulled up outside Elena's house, and she was glad Damon had persuaded her to let him drive her car home. They jumped out and ascended the steps as quick as they were able, blowing on their hands as Elena struggled to unlock the door. It was well worth the wait though; the smells of garlic and roasted potatoes wafted over them as the door swung open, and their stomachs growled in anticipation.

"Elena? Is that you?"

Miranda's voice called to them from the kitchen, and Elena giggled against Damon's lips as she tried to unwrap her scarf without breaking their kiss. "Hey, Mom! Damon's here too, he can stay for dinner, right?"

"Of course, hi Damon, how was school today?" Miranda threw a smile over her shoulder at them as they entered the kitchen, turning back to look at the pot she was stirring on the stove.

"It was good, thank you Mrs Gilbert," Damon pulled out one of the dining chairs for Elena to sit down and moved closer to the oven. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, if you two could talk to Jeremy about his homework while I finish this up, that would be a great help."

"Jeremy!" Elena shouted over her shoulder in the direction of the living room. "Get in here!"

The sound of a hastily bitten off curse was heard, followed by the TV switching off and a controller clattering onto the table, before Jeremy slouched his way into the kitchen, looking grumpy.

"Hey kiddo," Damon grinned at the younger Gilbert, reaching out to ruffle his hair because he knew it annoyed him. "Your Mom says you need help with your homework?"

Jeremy shot him a glare and pulled a hand through his messed up hair, before slumping down into a seat at the table. "I've got this English project due tomorrow." His voice was muffled as he buried his head in his arms.

"Ah, not really something I can help with," Damon winced and sat down, placing his hand on Elena's thigh and squeezing gently. "Your sister's the one you need for that."

"It's not like you've never been a sophomore, Damon," Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you remember the classes well enough." She turned to Jeremy. "What's the project?"

"Fairytales," Jeremy moaned into his arms. "It's so girly!"

Damon burst out laughing at that. "You've been reading the wrong ones then, Jer!"

"What?" Jeremy raised his head a stared at Damon with wide eyes, wondering if he was being teased.

"Fairytales are _dark_, man, creepy and horrible."

Jeremy turned to Elena. "Is he joking?"

Elena shook her head. "Think about them really, Jeremy. Hansel and Gretel - two children left in the woods by their own parents, then lured into a trap by a cannibal? Not exactly stuff dreams are made of."

"Tell us what you need to do for your project, and we'll help."

"Do _not _ask your sister to write it for you," Miranda interjected. "And help me lay the table, dinner's ready."

Damon laid the table as Elena helped her mother serve dinner, calling for her Dad to come out of his office and join them.

"So," Jeremy says, once they're all sitting down around the table with full plates in front of them. "Our project is to write our own fairytale, about winter. And I have an idea what to do, it's just writing it that's the problem."

"What's your idea?" Elena asked, interested. She wished she'd had such a project when she had been a sophomore; she would have loved writing fairytales.

"I drew a picture," Jeremy turned in his seat and pulled out the pad and pencil he always kept close by him. "Here." He flipped to the page and handed Elena the pad.

She looked down at the drawing, Damon leaning over her shoulder. The sketch depicted a young girl wrapped in a fur coat, a small smile on her face as she stood in the middle of a deserted snow covered town. The faint outline of ice statues stood in the distance behind her, and she held her hands tightly inside a large fur muffler. She was beautiful.

"Wow, Jer," Damon said as he turned back to his dinner. "Where'd you dream up that?"

"I don't know," Jeremy replied, a look of confusion flitting across his face before he shrugged and grabbed his pad back out of Elena's hands.

Elena thought for a minute, letting the image of the cold girl spark ideas in her head. "Okay, Jer, if I come up with an idea for your drawing, you write it, sound good?"

Jeremy sighed as Miranda said, "that sounds great, thank you Elena."

Elena grinned. "It's cool. Just be ready for when I come asking for help on quadratic equations."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need a ride home, Damon? It's starting to snow again."

Damon smiled. "No, thank you Mr Gilbert, I'll be fine." He grabbed Elena's hand. "Walk me out?"

Elena shoved her feet into her boots as Damon thanked her mother for dinner and shook her father's hand goodbye. She handed him his coat and stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind them.

"Wow, it's freezing out here."

Damon smirked. "Then I'd better try to keep you warm."

He stepped close to her and placed his palms against her cheeks, his fingers stroking down her neck and into her hair. She moaned as she slipped her arms around his waist under his coat, melting into his kiss. Their warm wet mouths seemed to make the cold air around them disappear as they got lost in each other, before a discreet tap on the other side of the door brought them back to themselves.

"Goodnight, Mr Gilbert," Damon called through the wood, then smirked and pressed his lips against Elena's one last time. "Try to be on time tomorrow? Morning make out sessions are the only thing that stop me from wanting to rip out people's throats."

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'll do my best."

Damon stepped backwards off the porch steps, watching as Elena walked back into the house and closed the door. He set off through the quickly falling snow, his gloved hands shoved deep in his pockets. The streets were heavy with the kind of silence that only a blanket of snow can create, the only sound the crunch of his boots as he left his footprints in the snow. As he made his way through the winding wooded road that led to his house, a sudden noise from above him made him look up. A branch above him shook in a non existing wind, and as Damon gazed up, the snow covering the bough suddenly slipped off, landing on his head.

"Ouch, Jesus!"

Damon cursed as he swiped at his head and face, wincing as a sharp pain pierced through his right eye. He looked up, his vision blurring for a moment before righting itself. A prickling up his neck made him turn around, and he started. A white convertible had parked itself on the opposite side of the road, the hood pulled down to reveal fur covered seats. A woman stood leaning against the driver's door, draped in white furs, her hands tucked deep inside a white fur muffler. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, her once pale blonde hair glittering with icicles. She stared at him with eyes like chips of ice, and after a moment, a small smile curved her bloodless lips. Damon blinked rapidly, and when he looked back again, she was gone.

* * *

Elena was starting to get worried. She'd waited at her locker for as long as she'd dared, but Damon hadn't shown up. She'd spent her entire physics class looking out the window at the parking lot, waiting for his car to come careening into the school lot, but he hadn't appeared. She hadn't been able to eat all through lunch, choosing instead to look at her phone and wonder why he hadn't replied to any of her texts or voicemail messages. It just wasn't like him; Damon never ignored her.

So, she was worried. She grabbed her bag after her history class and kept walking, past her math classroom and straight through the front doors to her car. She turned up the heat and pulled slowly out of the parking lot, worry for Damon pulling her muscles taught. Visions of him slowly freezing to death in a snowdrift kept washing over her, the possibility of a fight between him and his father that had finally tipped over the edge into physical violence leaving him a broken bloody mess. She sighed with relief as she pulled up outside his home and saw his car in the garage, track marks indicating that Guiseppe had left in the early hours and not yet returned. Pulling her gloves and scarf on, Elena stepped out of her car and walked across the lawn down towards their garden. The sound of bitten off curse words reached her ears, and the knot of tension in her stomach eased at the sound.

"Where have you been?" She asked him as she finally reached him, bent over the rose bushes in only a thin sweater. "I thought we were going to meet up at school this morning. I waited for you."

A huff sounded, followed by a mumbled comment she couldn't make out.

"What was that?"

Damon sighed and stood up straight, rolling his shoulders and keeping his back turned to her. "I said," he replied, his words clear and emphasised, "'not nearly as long as I waited for you.'"

His tone was bitter and cold, and Elena stumbled back a step in surprise. "Damon, what?"

"What are you doing here, Elena?" The words were clipped and aggressive, and they made Elena shiver.

"I was worried about you. Damon, are you okay?" Elena stepped forwards, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. If she could just get him to look at her, then the sick feeling in her stomach would disappear, she was certain.

He turned before she could make contact, and he stared down at her hand extended awkwardly in the cold air between them.

"I'm fine," he said, monotone, and still not looking at her. "You should just go."

Elena shook her head, not understanding. Damon could be cruel, she knew that, had seen other kids at school blanch and run in the opposite direction when he got it into his head that they'd upset him. But he'd never used that tone of voice with her before, not even when they were just friends.

"Damon, what's wrong? Did I, did I do something wrong?"

He looked up at her then, and Elena felt fear slide through her veins like ice, settling into her gut like cold concrete. His lips were pulled up into his trademark smirk, but it looked wrong, distorted, turning it into a sneer. His pale blue eyes, usually so warm whenever he turned their gaze upon her, were cold and unresponsive.

"Nope. How could you do anything wrong, Elena? You never do _anything at all."_

Elena pulled her gaze from Damon's, feeling the sharp sting of tears as she tried to hold them back. Looking around them, she let out a gasp.

"Damon! What did you do to the roses?"

They were scattered across the floor behind him, hacked away from the bush and thrown down haphazardly, the petals bleeding red onto the snow beneath them.

Damon shrugged. "I just decided to do a bit of pruning. Here, you can have them, since they seem to be important to you." He crouched down and swept them into his arms, before raising and throwing the thorny bedraggled bundle at her.

Elena jumped back a step, and as she looked down at the flowers falling to the ground at her feet, she heard a bark of sharp, cruel laughter. Without looking up, Elena turned on the spot and ran back across the frozen grass, sobs building in her chest as the laughter echoed around her.

* * *

Damon paced up and down in his parlour, one hand rubbing incessantly at his right eye. He needed to go out, needed to see Elena. He needed to apologise... didn't he?

The fire in the grate was stifling, and Damon pulled at the collar of his sweater as though it was trying to suffocate him. He needed to get out, needed some air. He pulled on his boots and yanked open the front door, leaving his coat on the rack behind him. He stomped out across his courtyard, the cold air a welcome relief on his flushed cheeks. He carried on walking, down the frozen driveway and along the road into town. He was halfway to Elena's house before the cold set in and he started shivering, cursing leaving the warmth of the fire behind.

"I can help, if you want."

The voice was quiet, devoid of inflection, and it slid over Damon like an ice cold shower on a hot summer's day. He turned, and saw the girl from the night before leaning against her car behind him. He hadn't even heard her pull up.

"With the cold," she explained. "I can help, if you want."

She tilted her head to the side and stepped forward, the muffler held in front of her brushing his chest. She slowly removed her hand from the folds of fur and reached up to touch him. Her icy fingers burned as she brushed them across his cheek, and he was lost in her gaze of ice as she leaned forwards and pressed her pale lips to his.

A warmth spread through him at their touch, and as she pulled away he gasped out loud.

"Elena..."

The girl smiled, a simple pull of the corner of her mouth with no emotion behind it. She pressed her lips against his again, then leaned back, staring deep into his eyes.

"Who?"

Damon felt a pull in his chest, but couldn't put a name to it. He wanted to struggle, to rip his cheek away from her palm and stumble back, but he didn't seem to have the energy. He felt her hand slide over his shoulder and down to his hand, settling there and tugging gently but insistently.

"Come away with me," she whispered into his ear, her breath cold against his neck.

Damon nodded; he couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be than wherever this girl was going, despite the insistent pull buried deep inside his chest. He settled against the fur lined seats of the open convertible, unable and unwilling to remove his gaze from her. She smiled that vacant smile again, and the car moved beneath them, snow coming down so thick and fast that it was impossible to see the road before them.

Damon didn't care.

* * *

**A/N: *This poem was actually written by Kevan Mends. I would have attempted something myself, but then Elena would have sucked ass at poetry just like me, LOL! Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are love :)**


	3. Act 3

**A/N: Okay guys, from here, it's going to be pretty much Elena over the next couple of chapters, hope that's okay. And also, the parts that Bonnie and Caroline play in this AU is different to how they are in the show now, and actually probably more like they were back in season 1 (because let's face it, they seem to have switched roles in the show regarding Damon and DE). But I had to have Bonnie play the part of the Sorceress, because reasons, and so Caroline had to play the part of the Princess. So hopefully it won't come across as too forced? Idk, see, this is why I usually write canon! haha**

* * *

**Act 3: The search.**

Saturday morning dawns bright and cold, but Elena missed the quiet beauty of it. Too upset over her fight with Damon, she'd come home that night and crawled into bed, ignoring her mother's calls for dinner and her father's gentle taps against her bedroom door. She'd spent the entire night with her phone clenched tightly in her fist, waiting for a call or a text that would explain Damon's sudden behaviour. Neither had come, and Elena had finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep as dawn had approached.

The next day, Elena had felt sluggish with exhaustion and sick with worry, and she had arrived at school late but determined to find Damon and make him explain himself to her. But their shared English classroom had felt empty without him there, and Elena had spent the rest of the school day alternating between looking out of the windows for a flash of his distinctive car and waiting beside their adjoining lockers for him to show up. She imagined their reunion over and over again; he would smile and apologise, explain that he'd had an argument with his father and that he was stressed, and then he would stroke her hair and kiss her until she forgave him. But Damon never showed.

After school Elena had gone straight home and crawled back into bed, caving at last and sending Damon a text. She'd fallen asleep again with the phone clutched to her chest, and when she'd awoken the sky had been bright with a new day and her phone stayed silent. The next two days passed in the same way, Elena looking for Damon but finding nobody there, calling him only to be directed straight to voicemail, texts remaining unanswered. She avoided Caroline and Bonnie in the hallways, their concerned expressions only tightening the ball of worry that was lodged in her chest. She side-stepped questions from her mother about when Damon was going to be coming around for dinner again, ignored the worried looks her father gave her when he thought she wasn't looking. She would stay up late into the night, writing her thoughts down in her diary and checking her phone every few minutes, worry quickly turning into desperation as the lack of replies remained the same.

Elena woke gasping, Damon's name on her lips as the image she'd been dreaming faded slowly from her mind. Something about Damon, and weather so cold Elena could feel it burning into her skin... She tried to grab for it, but the dream turned into wisps and disappeared. She swung her legs out of bed and looked around; her room was a mess from spending so much time holed up, pacing from window seat to door, picking random things up and then listlessly dropping them back down haphazardly. Nodding to herself, she made a decision. She would clean up, get dressed, and then go and seek out Damon and talk to him. He couldn't hide from her forever.

The tight ball of tension didn't ease as she went around her room, gathering up dirty clothes for a wash load and replacing books back on their shelves. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She quickly showered and dried her hair, pulling out her warmest long sleeved top to go with her jeans. The sudden cold snap seemed to be easing from what she could see out of the window, but still, the snow had yet to melt and ice still hung from the eaves. Pulling on her boots, she ran downstairs, calling to her mother that she would be out all day. She jumped into her car and turned the heater on full blast, steeling herself as she drove to Damon's house. If he was hiding from her for whatever reason, then she would find him and make him talk.

She parked on the gravel driveway and sat in the car for a moment, looking over at the perpetually open garage door. Guiseppe's car was there, shiny and pristine as usual, which was not a good sign. However, Damon's pale blue vintage Camaro was there too, which meant that at least Damon hadn't gone far. She got out and walked up to the heavy oak door, taking a deep breath before lifting the knocker. Hopefully, Damon would answer the door and they could talk without Elena having to run into his father.

Luck was not on her side. Elena tried to keep her face pleasant and open as the door swung inwards to reveal Guiseppe standing there, the frown on his brow so intense she could barely make out his beady little eyes. It was no secret between them that Elena disliked the man; she thought him a cruel, dismissive person and an even worse father. In fact, Elena was fairly certain that hardly anybody in town liked Mr Salvatore; she often saw her mother's pinched expression whenever his name was mentioned before it smoothed back out. Mystic Falls was one of those places that held town events for absolutely everything, and yet, Elena had yet to notice Guiseppe make an appearance at a single one. She knew it was one of the reasons why Damon always felt so out of place when he accompanied her; he felt that people around them just assumed he was the same as his father.

"What do you want?" Guiseppe's voice was cold and distant, his gaze directed just beyond her shoulder, as though he could barely force himself to look up at all.

Elena aimed for careful politeness. "Hi Mr Salvatore, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could speak to Damon, please?"

The old man almost smiled at that. "He's not here."

Elena held out a palm to stop the door from being closed on her face and set her jaw. "He must be here somewhere, his car is in the garage."

"That car is mine, I just let him borrow it." Guiseppe sneered at her, opening the door wider again and looking right at her for the first time. "He knew better than to take it with him, he knows I would have reported it as theft."

"Take it with him? Where has he gone?"

Guiseppe shrugged, unconcerned. "Don't know, don't care. He's eighteen now so he's no longer my concern." He peered down at her, his need to admonish her at war with finding amusement at her distress behind his eyes. "Just be grateful he didn't land on your doorstep, try to eat your family out of house and home and give nothing back in return."

Elena rocked back on her heels but didn't step back; she needed to know more. "When did he leave?"

"A few days ago."

"A few days?" Elena heard her voice rising and tried to regain control. "And you haven't reported him missing?"

"What for?" An unconcerned snort. "I told you, he's an adult now, and it's about time he decided to look after himself instead of leeching off of me." And with that, Guiseppe gave her one last nasty smile and shut the door in her face.

* * *

Elena stood on the ornate front porch of the Salvatore house, unable to quite work out what had just happened. She knew there was no love lost between Damon and his father, but for Guiseppe to just write off his son's disappearance as running away without even trying to look for him first? That was just... horrible. Elena made her way back down the steps, her feet taking her automatically across the wet lawn as she wondered where she could begin her search. Because Damon had to be close by; no matter what the state of their relationship had been in recently, he would never just up and leave without at least saying goodbye to her face to face first. She _knew _Damon, knew him better than she knew herself - he just wouldn't leave town without her.

Elena looked up, not surprised to find herself in their garden, and she sat down on the little stone bench, cold seeping through her jeans. The frost was starting to thaw; ice water ran off the dark leaves of the rose bushes and onto the hardened soil. The sound of piles of melting snow falling from branches echoed to her through the woods, birds chirping as the hopped from bough to bough after the silence of the snow. Elena sighed as she looked down at the bedraggled rose bushes, hacked off stems sticking up forlornly. _Something _must have happened to Damon before their argument, he'd _never _spoken to her like that before. So what could have happened?

A loud caw sounded next to her and she jumped up, startled out of her thoughts. She turned around to find a black crow perched on the end of the bench, head tilted to one side as it looked at her with a piercing eye. The bird seemed to study her for a long moment, before hopping along the bench, closer and closer, until his beak was level with her knees.

"Well, you're a bit cocky, aren't you," Elena mumbled to herself as she stared down at the crow, which was currently hopping from one leg to the other, as though it had some place else to be. "Don't let me keep you," she said, a note of faint hysteria creeping into her voice before she jumped back at a loud cry from the bird's mouth. For a split second she could have sworn the thing was scowling at her.

_Damon's been taken._

The errant thought flashed through her brain without warning and Elena gasped out loud as a feeling of certainty travelled though her, settling in her stomach like a lead ball. She had to tell someone... But who would believe her? It wasn't like she had any proof to take to the police - and that was even if they would believe her over Mr Salvatore's insistence that his son had simply left - and her parents, although they would listen to her, they would still think she was just overreacting to a lovers' fight and be reluctant to do anything officially. And if Elena was right - and she knew she was, she could feel it deep down to her soul - then all of that would take far too much time. She needed someone who could help her _now._ Staring blankly at the sea of torn up roses in front of her, Elena thought desperately about who she could get to help her. Her first option would have been Damon, he was always around when she needed him, always had been,. Then she thought of her other friends, but what could Caroline or Bonnie do -

_Bonnie._

Elena's eyes widened as she thought of her friend. Then she flashed her gaze back up to the crow, who was still standing in the same spot, eyeing her beadily.

"Bonnie," she said out loud, decisive and determined. "Bonnie can help me." She turned and strode off back over the lawn towards her car.

* * *

The crow watched as the girl quickly walked away, a relieved glint in its obsidian eye making him seem glad that he had managed to get through to her. At the sound of her car moving, it lifted up into the air and soared above her as though following. After a short time, it banked suddenly, seeming to fly as the, well, as the crow flies, straight to the rooftop of a home that is known among the animals for housing a witch.

* * *

Elena let out a breath she hadn't realised she's been holding as she saw Bonnie's car parked outside her house. Standing on the porch, she tried to calm her nerves and forced herself not to keep knocking on the door. But still, Elena couldn't help herself as the door opened to reveal her friend and she threw herself at the shorter girl, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"I need your help."

"oh my God what's, what's happened?" Bonnie stuttered, hugging Elena back instinctively. She pulled her friend in and shut the door behind them, guiding Elena into the living room. "Tell me what's going on."

"Damon's been kidnapped," Elena blurted out, wincing when she caught the look of amused surprise on Bonnie's face. She rushed to explain. "He went missing a few days ago, you know he's not been in school, and Guiseppe said he's just left but he hasn't, Bonnie, he wouldn't leave without telling me." She knew she was babbling but she couldn't help herself; it was as if having a friendly face in front of her had suddenly reminded her of the sinking sense of dread she had felt since her argument with Damon had caused a dam to break and she was helpless against the flow. "Please believe me Bonnie, someone kidnapped him and we need to find him. Someone _took him."_

Bonnie watched as Elena took deep breaths to try and calm herself down with an eyebrow raised. She had never been Damon's biggest fan, even less so since Elena had finally agreed to start dating him. And now, she couldn't help but think that this was a good thing, for Damon to have left town, for Elena's sake. Caroline may occasionally tell Bonnie that it was because she was jealous that Damon took the position of best friend from her back in seventh grade, Bonnie knew it was more than that. The whole Salvatore family was just... wrong. Her Grams had shown her an old family history book once, a diary of one of their ancestors who had been a maid for the Salvatores. The book detailed all of the weird things that had occurred back in 1864, strange animal attacks and whispers of vampires that had all seemed to have centred around the Salvatore family. Her Grams swears she feels a psychic shudder whenever she sees Guiseppe, and Bonnie was sure she felt the same way about Damon.

Elena sniffed and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, sitting up straighter when she saw Bonnie's disapproving look. "Listen, please just put whatever issue you have with Damon away for a bit and just be my best friend? Please?"

Bonnie blew air through her pursed lips, before rolling her eyes and nodding. "Okay, say I actually care where Damon is, and that I believe you when you say you think he's been kidnapped. What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to do a spell to find him." Elena stated, clear and too loud in the suddenly silent room. "Come on, Bonnie," she went on, as Bonnie opened her mouth to deny, "I know your Grams has been showing you magic, I've seen you floating pencils at school."

Bonnie stared at her. "Elena," she breathed out finally, before closing her eyes in defeat. "It's... it's not that simple. I've only been practising the really easy stuff and a locator spell... That's, that's not easy."

Elena put her hand on her friend's shoulder, smiling at her in a brief moment of happiness that her friend could do something like this. But then reality closed back in around her. "What about you Grams? She's more powerful, right?"

Bonnie stared at her. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

Elena nodded firmly. "I'm going to find him, Bonnie. He'd do the same for me, and he'd never stop until he found me."

Bonnie frowned at her for a moment before seeming to come to a decision and smoothing a hand over her face. "Okay, fine. Let's just... let's just have a cup of tea first, and then I'll call Grams, okay?"

"Bonnie, tea isn't going to help anything."

"It'll help me." Bonnie stood up and backed towards the kitchen, her hands held out to Elena. "It calms me down and to be honest, you've kind of freaked me out a little." She disappeared around the corner and Elena was left fidgeting in her seat, waiting. A few minutes later and Bonnie was back with two mugs, holding one out for Elena. "It'll help you calm down too," she said with a nervous smile.

Elena frowned slightly at her friend's slightly weird behaviour but accepted the drink, breathing in the smell of wild berries. "Herbal tea?"

Bonnie nodded a little quickly. "My Grams makes them herself, try it, it's really relaxing."

Elena sighed and lifted the cup to her lips, feeling the warmth of the liquid seep down to her bones. She yawned almost immediately, then turned to Bonnie. "Now we call Grams, right?"

"Right," Bonnie almost whispered, picking up her phone and flipping it round and round in her hand.

Elena had another mouthful of the tea and then yawned again, her eyelids closing involuntarily. She sluggishly blinked them open and saw Bonnie standing blurry in front of her and tried to open her mouth to ask what was happening, but the world went black around her. The last thing she felt was the feel of Bonnie carefully removing the mug from her hand.

* * *

_Tap-tap-tap!_

Elena's eyes snapped open at the sound, Bonnie's living room slowly coming into focus as she blinked sleepily. _Tap-tap-tap! _Her gaze darted around and then widened as it fell on the window. Another crow sat on the windowsill outside, tapping its beak against the glass as if to get her attention. It stopped as they seemed to make eye contact, and the bird stood still, looking back at her, its head tilted at just the same angle as the one in her garden had.

Elena opened her mouth to call for Bonnie, to ask what had happened, when a hushed voice reached her ears.

"I know Grams, but what was I supposed to do? What if he's gone running off to another country or somewhere and she decides to follow him? I don't know, I think I made it strong enough, but she only had a few sips, she must have been tired already-" Elena sat up as silently as she could surprise and hurt and angry at what she was hearing. "How long until you get here? No, I know, Grams, but it's better for her if she just forgets him and moves on. I mean, he's a _Salvatore-_"

Damon's name being said like it was a dirty word finally shocked Elena out of her frozen state, and she launched herself up off the couch, her hands clenched tight into fists at her sides. She took a step forward but then stopped, sudden worry making her sink her teeth into her bottom lip. Bonnie was a _witch, _she had finally confirmed it after all these months of just laughing it off as her crazy grandmother's idea of a joke. She could be able to do something to make her stay. She already _had _done something to try and make her stay. What if she wouldn't let her leave until her much more powerful grandmother showed up? Elena couldn't take that chance.

Elena jumped as a fluttering of wings on the other side of the room made her glance up. There, sitting on the open window pane, was the crow. She stared as it hopped over onto the windowsill, looking off into the kitchen, where Elena could still hear Bonnie whispering into the phone. The bird looked at Elena for a moment, then raised itself up into the air and flew into the kitchen, followed quickly by Bonnie's loud shriek.

_Run!_

A voice inside her head suddenly shouted at her to run, and she didn't question it. Leaving her coat and bag on the floor where she had dropped them, she ran to the front door and yanked it open. It was only once she had run down the path and smacked into the side of her car that she realised she had left her keys in her bag. She whirled around to go back, but Bonnie was already careening out onto the porch.

"Elena, wait! I can explain!"

The two girls stared at each other until a car turning into the street jarred Elena back into action and she ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could. The street was dark and she kept close to the bushes lining the sidewalk, even though a part of her knew that she was being a little bit too paranoid. But Bonnie was her best friend, and the hurt cascading through her chest made her breath catch in her throat with every step.

She kept running until she found herself on Caroline's doorstep, not even realising until after she'd knocked where she even was, her thoughts too jumbled with images of Damon, wherever he was. She heard Caroline's feet as she made her way down the hall, and Elena felt a moment of panic as she wondered what Caroline would say. If Bonnie didn't believe her, then Caroline certainly wouldn't; she had always scoffed at Bonnie's stories about witchcraft during sleepovers.

"Hey, Elena!" Caroline smiled as she pulled open the door, then immediately frowned. "What's up? You look like you've been crying."

"Um, nothing," Elena mumbled, not wanting to say anything to turn Caroline against her. "Can I just... can I just come in for a bit? It's freezing out here."

Caroline's eyes widened as she took in her friend's clothes. "Oh my God, what are you doing without a coat on? Get in here before you die of hypothermia!" She whipped out a hand and grabbed Elena's arm, pulling her over the threshold and shutting the door behind them. She led Elena into the living room, gesturing with her hand in front of them.

"Elena, meet Stefan! Stefan, this is my best friend Elena!"

Elena jerked her head up to see a boy sitting on one of the couches, looking up at her with interest. He stood up and held out a hand to her, which she shook automatically. He had spiky dark blond hair and hazel eyes and looked absolutely nothing like Damon at all, and yet when he smiled, and the left corner of his mouth rose slightly higher than his right, suddenly all she could think about was Damon. She needed to find him.

"Caroline," she said, turning to face her friend seriously. "I need your help."

* * *

**A/N: I'm actually really nervous about this update, so any reviews to tell me what you think would be awesome! Also, check out the beautiful pic Sandra made for this story! Isn't it amazing?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: God, I am so sorry for the wait for an update, guys! I won't go into too much detail, because you've already been waiting long enough, but suffice it to say that work, sick children and a computer virus all conspired against me to create a trifecta of crap that stopped me from getting this up sooner. I am really sorry to Sandra, because this story was supposed to be a bloody Christmas present for her, and we're already halfway through February. Um. Happy Valentine's Day too? I do have the last 2 chapters already written though, so they should be up within the next couple of days.**

**A/N 2: Okay, so you guys may see some of The Lion, The Witch and The wardrobe stuff in this chapter, but then C S Lewis said he got the idea of the White Witch from The Snow Queen, so I figured it he could steal an idea, I could too. Right? Anyway, I hope you like it :)**

* * *

**Act 4: The journey.**

Elena's hands trembled as she reached out for the mug of steaming coffee Caroline held out to her. Snow had turned the ends of her jeans into stiff frozen boards that now leaked a steady drip of ice cold water to the polished wooden floor beneath her feet. The romantic fire burning behind the grate, the only remnant of the date her friend had been on before Elena had gatecrashed, crackled and popped as it slowly warmed her frozen limbs. She sipped at the hot liquid, trying not to spill any of it as another shudder wracked through her body.

"Okay, tell me again what Bonnie did? Because I don't get it." Caroline sat down next to Elena, curling her feet underneath her as she frowned at her friend in confusion.

Elena sighed and wrapped her fingers tighter around her coffee. "I told you, she made me a sleeping tea, knocked me out."

"Right. But the crow woke you up?"

Caroline looked as though she was torn between scoffing at the whole thing and worrying for Elena's mental health, not that Elena could really blame her. Caroline had always had a little trouble believing Bonnie's weird family stories. "Am I being punked?" The blonde asked finally, one perfect eyebrow raised in a hopeful expression.

"Look, I know it's hard to believe, Caroline, but I swear I'm telling the truth." Elena looked at her friend earnestly, desperate for someone to believe her. "Damon has been kidnapped, I know it, and I have to find him! Please, _please _tell me you believe me?"

Caroline lowered her gaze and opened her mouth, but the voice that spoke came from the other side of the room.

"We believe you," Stefan stated quietly. He had listened to Elena's story without interrupting, a contemplative frown on his face, but now he seemed completely at ease, his expression showing nothing but belief in her words. At Caroline's confused frown, he leaned forwards slightly, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "My grandmother used to tell me stories when I was little, of worlds that lay side by side. She always said that Mystic Falls was one of the few places where the veil between worlds was thinnest. She used to say that this was why weird things would happen here, people would go missing sometimes. What you've told us sounds a lot like one of her stories."

"Even the crow?" Caroline squeaked out, but she looked more interested than disparaging now, so Elena jumped at the small chance.

"Caroline, I don't need much, just some warmer clothes, and to borrow your car. I can't go back and get mine from Bonnie's, I know she was just doing what she thought was best for me, but I can't risk her doing something else."

Caroline sighed, but stood up. "I think I have some boots that will fit you, and you could probably do with some dry jeans. Come on, we'll see what we can find."

A few minutes later, and Elena was standing by Caroline's front door, dressed in a pair of Caroline's jeans and red snow boots, wrapped up in one of her friend's ridiculous red fur coats.

"Thank you, Caroline," Elena said, grabbing her friend and pulling her in to a tight hug. "I know you don't really believe me, but thank you for helping me."

"But, Elena," Caroline looked at her, biting her lip. "Where will you even begin to look?"

"You should follow the crow." Elena turned to Stefan, who had opened the door and was looking out at the porch. There in the snow, was the black crow, his head tilted to one side as though he was waiting for something. Waiting for her. Stefan held out his hand to her. "Here, take my car, Caroline hasn't got snow tyres on hers. Good luck."

Elena took the keys and leaned in and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered, and stepped out into the snow, looking down at the crow. It squawked once, then took to the air, flying northwards down the dark street and lighting upon a tree branch at the end of the road, tipping its head to one side as though waiting for her to follow. Elena cast one last smile back at the couple holding hands on the porch and then got into Stefan's car, turning to follow the bird down the road.

* * *

Elena drove slowly; she kept losing sight of the black bird against the darkness of the streets, and more than once she had to pull over and stop before she heard it squawk and located it again. She was so busy looking out for the crow that she didn't notice until she was on it that she had reached Wickery Bridge, right on the edge of town. She looked up with a start as thick snowflakes suddenly whirled in front of her, fresh snow on the bridge before the car as though it had been snowing for hours. She looked in the rear view mirror, but everything behind her was dark, snow turned to slush turned to water that ran in rivulets down the side of the road. But everything in front of her was white, pristine snow piled high on branches, along the top of the bridge, icicles dripping from branches of the trees on the other side. It was as though she had just crossed some kind of threshold into a winter wonderland. Another world.

The snow was too deep for even the winter tyres to conquer, and she found herself gripping the steering wheel tight between her gloved hands as the car slipped and slid down the bridge, before landing itself gently in a snow bank. Trembling slightly, she opened the car door and got out, grateful for the ostentatious snow boots that Caroline had insisted she wear. She looked around for the crow, and saw him perched upon a bough just a few yards ahead of her. She took a step forward, but the bird suddenly took flight, rising far above her and disappearing into the dark sky with a single squawk.

_Keep heading north._

The words echoed in her head, and Elena was starting to get the feeling that the crow was somehow able to talk to her. She shut the car and locked it, shoved her hands in her pockets and looked around, not entirely sure she knew exactly which way north was any more.

"Well, well, look what tripped over the gate."

The whispered voice came from her left, and Elena whirled around, searching the edge of tree line.

"Nice. Which do you think would make a better price, Fred? The car, or the girl?" Another voice came from behind her, and Elena spun on the spot again.

"I say we take 'em both, nice little bonus either way."

Dark shadows solidified in front of the trees, and two men stepped into the snow in front of her. A small sound of crunching snow told Elena that there was at least one other standing behind her. She raised her hands, spread them wide in front of her to show that she wasn't a threat, her heart picking up speed in her chest. "Listen I, I don't want any trouble -"

"Aww, well that's a shame, girly. Because us boys love a bit of trouble, don't we?" The first man, Fred, smirked as he sauntered closer to her while catcalls and cheers sounded all around her. Elena couldn't tell if she was actually surrounded or if their jeering was just echoing around the snow covered night. Fred stopped just in front of her, leaning closer and whispering conspiratorially, "we like a girl with a bit of fire in her, see."

A loud yawn sounded from beside the abandoned car, and Elena turned to see a girl with long dair hair leaning against it nonchalantly. "Even when you think I'm not here, you're still talking about me," the girl said, examining her nails. "I think it's sweet."

Fred snarled. "Katherine. You were supposed to stay at home."

"I got bored." Katherine looked up then, her eyes locking with Elena's, and shock flitted across her face before she looked down again and shrugged. Elena was shocked herself; if the girl had straight hair instead of curly, they could have been twins. "Are we going then?"

Elena cried out as someone grabbed her arms from behind, but before she could pull away, cloth was thrown over her head as rope was being circled around her wrists. "I'll take the car," a male voice said, right in front of her, and Elena flinched back as she felt a hand being plunged into her pockets and the keys being drawn out. "Chuck her in the van, I'll follow on behind," the same voice said, and suddenly Elena was being lifted into the air and hoisted over someone's shoulder, her cries muffled by the cloth bag over her head. She heard the sound of a car door being opened, and then she was thrown unceremoniously onto a hard surface that rumbled beneath her. Boots clanged next to her as the group filed into the back of the van with her. Panicking, Elena threw herself upright, trying despite her blindness and bound hands to find her way out before the doors closed. A strong hand gripped her shoulder and wrenched her backwards, her head hitting something hard enough to make her black out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," were the last words she heard as she succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

Disembodied voices floated to her through the darkness, and Elena blinked hard, trying to bring her hands up to rub at her face. A sharp pain ran across her shoulder blades as she tried to move, and she remembered that her hands had been bound behind her back and the darkness around her was not of her own doing. She rolled her neck slowly on her shoulders, needing to ease the pain in her head and yet not wanting to draw attention for herself.

"So what are we gonna do with her then?" One voice asked, and Elena forced herself to remain still and not turn towards the sound.

"Same as with the other one I guess, keep her here until we sell the car, then see what we can get for her." Another voice, rougher than the first.

A harsh laugh sounded. "I bet we get more for her than the other one. Come on, let's get moving, it'll be light soon."

"I'll stay here," a female voice said, and Elena tensed as she recognised it to be the girl from the road who looked so much like her. "Now that there's two of them, one of us should keep guard, make sure they don't run away."

A brief silence, and then, "fine, just don't expect to get as much of the profit if you're not gonna do any of the hard work."

Elena heard three sets of boots walking on hard ground, before the groan and squeak of a door being pulled shut. Belatedly, she realised she was no longer inside a van; she could feel cold, hard earth beneath her hands where they were still pinned behind her back. She tried to relax her body in the hopes that she still looked unconscious to the girl, as she desperately ran through escape ideas in her head. A chuckle sounded to her left, and then suddenly the cloth was whipped from off her head, leaving her blinking in the low light.

"You're really not very good at pretending to be something you're not, are you?" The girl leaned over her, mirth shining in her eyes. "That innocence won't do you any favours here, you know."

Elena glared at her captor until she moved back, amusement clear on her face. "Katherine, right?" Elena said as she pulled herself slowly into a sitting position. It wasn't easy to do with her hands still bound behind her back. "I remember they said your name, back on the road."

"Oooh, you're sharp. I think I like you." Katherine kicked her heels against the compacted ground, a smirk pulling at her lips as she turned in a circle.

"I'm Elena," she said. It couldn't hurt to at least try to get on the girl's good side. If she even had one.

"Aww, that's sweet! You think we're gonna bond over knowing each other's names and then braid each other's hair?"

So much for a good side. "No. I just thought if we're going to be stuck in here together for a while, we might as well call each other by our names."

Katherine paused in her slow turning and glanced down at her. "Hmm, you know, you might be right. Hey, you!" She turned on her heel and strode across the ground, and Elena could finally see where she was. It looked like an old horse stable, the wooden partitions mainly rotted away, but still standing enough to divide the large barn into smaller sections. Elena frowned as she realised she was in the corner furthest from the door. The sound of shuffling stopped her from looking any further, and she turned her head back to her lap before Katherine came back into view, dragging a similarly bound boy with her.

"Elena here suggested that as we're all stuck here, we might as well have a party, get to know each other a bit!" Katherine pushed the boy and he fell down next to Elena on his knees.

"Hi, I'm Elena," she said, ignoring the way Katherine rolled her eyes theatrically.

The boy looked up at her, bright blue eyes shining through the slightly matted blond hair framing his forehead. "Matt."

"So, how did you end up here?" Elena shifted, trying to get comfortable at the same time as moving away from Katherine slightly; Elena wasn't entirely sure she was sane.

Matt let out a breathy laugh as he eased himself into a sitting position. "Same as you, I guess. Went over the bridge and accidentally found myself here, where apparently people are nuts and like to carjack people and then keep them in a barn for God knows how long."

"Please." Katherine slid down the wooden partition closest to them and stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing one over the other with an air of nonchalance. "As if it's nuts to go after the things you need. Push comes to shove, between you and me I will always choose me. I do what I have to to survive. Besides," she continued, lifting a finger and twirling a curl around it, "Elena didn't get here by accident, did you?"

Elena stared at her. "I don't know what you mean," she said finally, uncomfortable with the knowing look Katherine was giving her.

"Now, now, we're all friends here, there's no need to be coy. We do all know each other's names now, after all." She smirked. "I was watching you. From our side, under the bridge. People don't usually see the gate. It doesn't open for very long, you have to hit it at just the right time. But you saw it. I saw you. You stopped, and you looked, and then you kept on going."

Elena took in a breath. "I'm... I'm looking for someone. He came through here. I came to find him, bring him back."

"Well that was stupid of you. You can't get back, nobody can. Only the White Witch can pass both ways, and even she doesn't do that very often. It drains her magic, or so I've heard." Katherine let her hair fall then, and looked at Elena with a shrewd expression. "But I've got a feeling you might be different."

Elena eyed her warily. "What makes you think so?"

"Because you were following that crow." At Elena's blank look, she rolled her eyes. "People who can speak to animals are special. Maybe they're special enough to pass back through the barrier."

"And why do you care if she can do that?" Matt spoke up, staring at Katherine.

"Because I want to go home."

Elena's eyes widened as she saw a wistful expression pass across Katherine's face, before it hardened again into a lazy smirk. "And you're going to help me cross back."

"I will," Elena nodded. "But not until I find who I came here for."

Katherine let out a harsh laugh. "Anyone who came through the gate by accident is long gone by now, either dead or sold off. Or turned into a robber, like myself."

"Maybe you've seen him?" Elena pushed on, undeterred by Katherine's lazy shake of her head. "He's tall with pale skin, dark hair and pale blue eyes." She felt a momentary thrill as Katherine suddenly stopped moving, freezing into place as she looked at her. The fear in her eyes stopped Elena cold. "What? What is it?"

"I've seen him," Katherine whispered. "He's... gone now."

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Elena stared at her, fear threatening to overtake her.

"He was in _Her_ car," she whispered, and Elena felt a thrill of fear down her spine as she continued. "The White Witch. She brings them across, sometimes. She never keeps them for very long."

"I don't understand," Elena started, but then shook her head. This wasn't important right now, she just needed to find Damon. He was here somewhere, she could feel it. "Katherine. You need to let me go. Let us go," she nodded over to include Matt in their escape plans. "Let us go and when I've found Damon, I'll help you cross over. It's what you want, right?"

Katherine raked her eyes over Elena, contemplative. "If the others find out what I've done, they'll kill me."

"Then come with us! We'll go and find Damon, and then we'll all cross over together, and you can go home."

Katherine chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, then slowly reached down inside the leather of her boot. She pulled out a sharp silver blade, and Elena shrank back instinctively. Katherine rolled her eyes as she reached out and grabbed Elena's shoulder. "I need to cut you free, stupid."

The rope was cut from her wrists, and Elena flexed her fingers as she rubbed the circulation back into her hands, watching as Katherine leaned forward and set Matt free. They all stood up and looked at the door.

"If we're going to go, we should do it now, the others will be back before dawn to hole up." Katherine walked forward and pulled on the door handle, and Elena winced as the old metal let out a high pitched screech.

"Do you know where to even start looking for your friend?" Matt asked as he stepped out into the rapidly falling snow.

Elena looked up at the sky, trying to find her bearings. "We head north. That's what the crow told me to do, keep heading north."

"Uh huh. And which way is that?" Matt peered around at the trees and open fields surrounding them, and Katherine rolled her eyes at Elena's blank look.

"I'm surrounded by idiots. Come on." She pushed past them both and turned to the right, stooping to grab a fallen branch off the ground, giving the leaves on the end a shake. "Perfect. Here," she handed the branch to Matt, who looked at it with confusion. "Christ. See? Idiots. Drag it across the ground after us, get rid of our tracks. Otherwise they'll know exactly which way we went."

They set off across a field, Katherine in the lead with Matt trailing the branch behind, obliterating their tracks through the snow.

* * *

"It's getting light," Katherine said eventually, her head turned to look up at the pale purple sky. "We need to find shelter, the others will be looking for us by now."

"Okay," Elena said, looking around her, "but where?"

"Over there," Matt pointed with his stick through the trees lining the field they had been tramping across for the past few hours. "There's a light. Maybe it's a house?"

"Sweetie, you have the bluest eyes I have ever seen, but you're not that bright, are you?" Katherine raised her eyebrows at him. "Houses mean people, and we are supposed to be flying under the radar here, or didn't you get that part?"

"I think it's a good idea," Elena said, looking off through the trees to the small light twinkling through the low slung branches. She turned at Katherine's disbelieving noise and fixed her with a look. "I don't see the harm in at least checking it out. Besides, do you have a better plan?"

Katherine tilted her head back as though she was praying for strength, then held her hands out in a gesture of defeat. "Fine. Be my guest. You can go first though, so your painful death will give the rest of us a chance to get away."

Elena rolled her eyes and moved off towards the trees, keeping her eyes focused on the light. Moving through the thin wood was both easier and harder than it had been walking across the field; there was less snow thanks to the canopy of branches high above their heads, but the low vines and exposed roots meant that they had to pick their steps with more care. By the time they reached the other side, dawn had fully appeared, setting everything a beautiful pale pink as they stepped through the last line of trees. A small cottage stood a little way back from the wood, lights flickering in a few of the mullioned windows. A stone bird table sat in the middle of a snow covered garden, and nut baskets hung from below the windowsills. Birds chattered as they pecked at pieces of bread strewn across the table, and squirrels raced across the low slung porch as they stole the nuts and ran away with them, delighting in their early morning breakfast.

Elena smiled back at Katherine. "I seriously doubt anyone feeding all the wildlife out here will give us all painful deaths," she said in a low voice.

Katherine smirked back. "And yet, you're still whispering."

Elena scowled and reached to grab Matt. "Come on, let's go knock on the door. We can leave her here to freeze to death."

"Oh no, you're not leaving me anywhere." Katherine scrambled behind them and they walked out onto the freshly fallen snow. The birds' chattering grew in level as they walked closer to the house, and Elena watched as one sparrow in particular flew to a window and began rapping on it insistently with its tiny beak.

_Finn, _Elena heard in her head, _Finn, there are strange people here._

Before they made it to the porch, the door opened, revealing a young man, wrapped head to toe in a fur coat. "Who are you?" He called to them, and they stopped moving forward. Elena saw Katherine reaching down to her boot, and shook her head. "What do you want?"

Elena stepped forward tentatively. "Is your name Finn?" She asked with a smile.

The man's eyes widened with shock. "How do you know that? I don't know you."

Elena pointed at the sparrow, who had hopped carefully closer to the man in front of her. "Your friend said your name, I heard it."

"You... you heard him?" Elena nodded. "I have never met anybody who could hear them before." He looked down at the bird, and then back to Elena. He smiled, cautiously. "Yes, I am Finn. How can I help you?"

"My name is Elena, and this is Matt, and Katherine. We are in need of some shelter, if you wouldn't mind?"

Finn looked at them for a moment, his eyes resting on Katherine a beat longer, before nodding and moving back, sweeping his arm out behind him. "Of course, you're welcome to come inside."

Elena thanked him and stepped up onto the porch, smiling down at the sparrow as it skittered back out of the way. Finn showed them into a small parlour room and offered them seats in front of a roaring fire. They sank gratefully into the cushions, stretching their hands and feet towards the heat of the flames as Finn left the room in search of hot drinks for them all.

"So," Finn said eventually, once they were all settled with mugs of hot sweet tea and slices of buttered toast in front of them. "Can I ask what you're doing this far north? There aren't that many people who live up here."

Elena sipped her tea, wrapping her cold fingers around the mug gratefully. "We're looking for someone. Well," she amended as Katherine threw her a look, "I'm looking for someone, and these two are helping me."

"Standing back and watching as you fail, you mean," Katherine scoffed. "I already told you, he'll be long gone by now."

Finn frowned. "I don't understand. Why would you think your friend would be anywhere near here?"

"Because the White Witch has him." Katherine said as Elena opened her mouth to reply.

"Someone... a, a crow. He told me to keep going north. I can't... I won't stop until I've found him," Elena said in a rush.

Finn stared at her. "You're going to see _Her_?" he asked, fear, and something like sadness in his expression.

Elena nodded. "Katherine says she saw her with him. I'm going to get him back."

Finn continued to look at her, his gaze appraising. "All right," he said finally. "Finish your food and drink, and we'll set off."

"We?" Elena asked. "You're coming with us?"

Finn nodded. "On the next part of your journey, anyway. There is only one person who knows the exact place She lives. My brother. I will take you to him, and he can guide you the rest of the way."

"Wait," Matt interjected, "your brother knows, but he never told you?"

"I didn't want to know," Finn said, looking down at the floor. "The temptation would have been too great." He mumbled, almost to himself, and then stood up abruptly before they could ask him what he meant. "Finish your drinks. I will go and get myself ready." He strode out of the room.

"Yep," Katherine sighed as she drained her cup, "still surrounded by idiots."

* * *

Once they were all snuggled up in their winter clothes once more, they stepped back out into the thick snow, Finn in the lead, Katherine's low grumbling bringing up the rear. Finn led them along the line of trees away from his house, stopping every now and then to greet the woodland creatures that crossed their path.

"Have you always been able to do that?" Elena asked as he bent down to offer a small rabbit a piece of carrot from one of his pockets.

Finn smiled briefly, a mixture of warmth and sadness in the creases of his eyes. "I developed the ability in my adolescence. All of my siblings were blessed with some gift. My brother was given the gift of soul reading. He can look into a person's heart and know their true motives. He will be able to tell if what you seek to do is possible." he nodded his head and pointed in front of him, and Elena looked up, noticing a small house, not unlike Finn's own, slowly coming into view before them. "His is the house furthest north. Except for where She lives." Finn continued on, the others following him closely behind, until they found themselves on the wooden porch. He raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before he could touch his knuckles to the wood.

"Finn, my dear brother, I thought I could hear your thoughts coming closer."

A man with dark hair and smiling eyes leaned forward and pulled his brother into an embrace, hands clasping the fur of his coat as though afraid he would disappear. "It has been too long, my dear brother," he whispered, before glancing over his shoulder at the rest of them gathered behind. "And you brought company," he said louder, pulling back to look at them all more closely.

"Brother, I would like you to meet Elena, and her friends Matt and Katherine. Elena, this is my brother, Elijah."

"Charmed," Elijah said, as he took Elena's hand in his and kissed it lightly.

"It's nice to meet you," Elena smiled, letting him pull her gently over the threshold of his home.

He guided her through into a sitting room and offered her a seat as the others filed in behind them. "Please, make yourselves at home."

"Elena has come asking for you assistance, brother," Finn said, as they all sat down and removed their gloves so that they could warm their hands by the fire.

Elijah smiled. "I thought as much." He turned to Elena. "You are not from here, am I correct?"

"She's from across the gate," Katherine interjected. "We all are, from one time or another."

Elijah smiled again, and sat down close to Elena. "I thought so," he said gently. "I have never been that good at reading people who were not born here. Not without some form of contact, at any rate."

Elena looked at him. "Your brother said you might be able to help me," she started, but Elijah raised his hand and she fell silent.

"I would prefer to find out for myself," he said, holding out his hand. "May I?"

Elena placed her hand in his upturned palm, and his warm fingers closed over hers, thumb smoothing gentle circles across her knuckles, his eyes closed. After a moment, he opened them again and looked at her, hand still encompassing hers.

"You've lost someone you love," he murmured finally, thumb still moving across her skin. "And you've come to get him back."

"Yes," Elena breathed, mesmerised by the way he seemed to be able to see right into her heart.

"Katherine believes him to have been taken by _Her_, Elijah," Finn said, as he paced in front of the fire.

"Is that so?" Elijah mumbled, not taking his gaze from Elena's. "In that case, I think if anyone could do it, it would be this one."

"Are you sure?" Finn asked, as Elena frowned in confusion.

"Do what? What do I have to do?" she asked.

Elijah smiled at her reassuringly. "If your friend is right, and She has your friend, then it is up to you to find him."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Elena replied, confused.

"It will be difficult," Elijah went on, "there will be hurdles you have yet to face. I can give you two pieces of advice, so listen carefully. The first is, what is frozen can be freed with the breath of life."

"Breath of life? I don't under-"

"And the second is, remember the roses."

"Remember the... what? I don't understand what you're asking me to do," Elena said finally.

"You will, when the time comes." Elijah released her hand finally, and stood up. "I can show you the path you need to take. But only you," he continued as both Matt and Katherine stood up to join her. "The rest of the journey you need to take alone."

"What?" Matt said, bristling. "No way. You said there'll be hurdles; she'll need help."

"All the help she'll require already lies within her heart. I have seen it," Elijah replied, his gaze still on Elena.

She swallowed hard and stood up, grabbing her gloves and scarf. "Show me where I need to go."

Elijah smiled briefly and walked her to the door. He opened it and pointed through the trees. "Once you get to the other side, bear left. I believe there will be a certain crow waiting for you there who will guide you from there." He squeezed her arm tenderly as she stepped back out into the snow. "Your friends are welcome to remain here until your return. Good luck, Elena Gilbert."

She started at the use of her full name, but smiled at him and stepped off the porch, heading towards the trees.

"Do you really think she can do it?" Finn asked quietly as the two brothers watched her disappear into the wood.

"Trust me, brother, if anyone can lift the curse, it is her. The love she feels for the one she has lost is very great."

"It is not _her _love that is important."

"I have seen into her heart. Anyone who is loved by a soul as bright as she can do nothing but love her fiercely in return. I have faith." Finn wrapped his arms around himself and Elijah patted him on the shoulder. "Fear not, dear brother. I shall have faith enough for us both."

* * *

The walk through the trees had been easier this time around, as the weak winter sun had shone brightly enough to light the way. The snow covered field on the other side had momentarily blinded Elena as she stepped out from the cover of the trees, and she raised her hand to shield her eyes from the glare as she turned left and kept walking. After what felt like hours she suddenly heard a soft squawking, and she looked up into the low slung branches of a nearby tree.

"Hello there," she smiled up at the crow as he turned his head to the side, one beady eye staring balefully at her.

_Took you long enough._

Elena laughed. "Hey, being car-jacked isn't exactly a quick and easy experience, you know." She watched him hop on one leg. "So, Elijah said you'd show me the rest of the way? Try not to leave me behind this time."

_Keep heading north._

Elena sighed. "Yeah, about that. I'm not really all that good at guessing directions, to be honest. Could you just show me?"

The crow twisted its head to look at her with the other eye, and Elena could swear she saw it roll. Then it flew up off the branch, sending a small avalanche of snow falling across her boots as it soared up into the pale blue sky.

_This way._

Elena blew out a breath and started forward again. "Much better, thank you."

They continued on like this for quite some time, the crow flying on and waiting for Elena to catch up, hopping from foot to foot in its impatience, with nothing to pass for scenery other than yet more snow covered fields and trees. Eventually though, Elena caught a reflection bouncing of a sparse tree trunk and she stopped, shielding her eyes as she looked for the source. And then she saw it; further up ahead, an ice blue wall rose up out of the snow, and behind it, what looked like a large white castle.

"That's where we're going?" She breathed out slowly, her breath curling out in front of her in a cloud of white, momentarily obscuring her view.

_If we ever get there._

Elena rolled her eyes. "No need to be rude." But she stepped forward again, renewed strength in her legs now that she could see her destination as it grew larger in front of her with every step. before she knew it, she was standing close enough to touch the high wall surrounding the castle, and she reached out her gloved hand to trace her fingers over the smooth surface.

"It's ice!" She said in amazement, her gaze travelling the length of the wall. "How do we get through?"

_Follow the wall. It will lead you to the entryway._

Elena began walking, letting her fingers trail over the ice wall as she circled around it. Eventually she came to a small archway, and she stopped, peering round it into a snow covered courtyard. Her breath stuttered in her throat as she saw the figures all standing around, and she darted back behind the cover of the wall. Belatedly, she realised that none of the people had been moving, and she leaned back, peering through the archway once more. She saw that they were statues, lots of them, all standing around in similar poses. Many of them had their hands pressed to their stone faces, eyes closed as though in misery. Elena's gaze passed over them, searching for a doorway into the castle, which she noticed was also made of ice.

"Damon is in there?" She asked the air around her, feeling her heart break over how cold and alone he must be.

_He will be in the centre chamber. It's where she keeps them, until they become of no use to her any more._

Elena swallowed, then nodded to herself. "Okay then." She took a deep breath and then moved out into the open, her gaze fixed upon the door into the castle. She kept her eyes on the door as she moved forward; she didn't really want to look at all the statues, they looked too real to be comfortable. But then she tripped on something hidden deep within the snow and her arm shot out, landing on the hip of one of the figures. She looked up into the face of the stone boy, and frowned.

"He looks just like..." she trailed off as the memory hit her; of watching television with her parents the year before, listening to them tut to each other in sympathy as a middle aged woman held up a picture of her missing son. _He had been acting weird the days before, but we know he wouldn't just run away. Someone has taken him!_ Elena clapped her hand to her mouth to stop her cry from echoing out across the silent courtyard. "He _was _real!" She whispered out loud, turning her head back to the archway, seeing the crow staring sadly back at her. "Is this what you meant when you said they're of no use to her? Is this what she does to them?"

_It's one of her abilities. She likes to look at them, remember how many she has taken._

Elena turned her gaze back to the stone boy in front of her, her hands sliding up to touch the once golden curls flopping over his forehead. She leaned in close as she stroked her fingers across his cold cheek, pressing her forehead to his for a brief moment. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, her breath curling like white smoke across the statue's frozen face. She stepped back, her eyes downcast, sorrow that she could not help him bringing tears to her eyes. But then, she heard the faintest whimper, and then the sound of someone sighing gently. Her eyes wide, she looked back up, and watched in amazement as colour suddenly bloomed across the boy's cheeks, his eyes fluttering open as his arms moved slowly upward.

"The breath of life," Elena whispered in wonder, as the boy looked down at his own hands in astonishment, before pinning his dark brown gaze upon her. Elena suddenly moved into action, turning from one statue to the next, cupping their faces in her hands and breathing out a breath onto each of them in turn, moving on to the next one as colour sprang to life behind her. Most of her breaths were full of relief as she took in each face and realised that they weren't Damon; she couldn't think of a worse thing than for him to be stranded in this frozen courtyard. Damon was all life; constant movement and thoughts behind his bright, beautiful eyes, his light teasing smirk. That he might have been transformed into something life this was unthinkable to Elena.

Eventually, all the statues had been breathed upon, and Elena found herself standing by the door she had kept her eyes on earlier. "Go," she said to the boys and men slowly waking up around her, and pointed to the bird. "Follow the crow, he'll guide you all away from here." She glanced at them all once more, and then turned to face the doors. Damon was in there, she could feel it. As the freed people started to move away, Elena reached out a firm hand and grasped the doorknob, pulling it open in a smooth slide. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

She found herself in an ice room. Everything was made from ice that shone, bright and slippery. The walls around her, the staircase, the floor beneath her feet; all was ice. A cold breeze blew across her from an arched hallway to her left, and Elena stepped cautiously towards it. She knew she should go slowly, carefully, keep an eye out for the White Witch, whoever she was, but she could _feel _him now; could feel his presence, a soothing sensation slipping down over her spine, and she couldn't help herself. Her footsteps sped up as her fingers skimmed across the icy surface of the walls, until she was almost running. She skidded to a stop as her hand on the wall faltered, finding a frosted over wooden door instead of smooth frozen ice.

This was it, she knew it.

Carefully, she reached out for the doorknob, twisting it gently at first, and then tugging when it proved to be frosted shut. After a moment's pulling, the lock finally gave way, and the door swung open in front of her. The floor of the room was different to that of the hallway. It was more opaque, limned with frost as though it wasn't as solid as the rest of the building. A gilt frame stood in the very centre, pieces of what looked like ice slotted in haphazardly, giving off a distorted reflection of the surrounding room.

And there, standing next to the frame, that familiar set of shoulders, that tousled dark hair and pale skin. Elena let out a breath.

"Damon."

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**A/N: So, there we go, I hope you liked it? Next chapter is from Damon's PoV! Reviews are love xx  
**


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